Thank You, Jeeves

Bertie Wooster's newfound enthusiasm for the banjolele results in his eviction from his apartment and, to his outrage, having to take notice from his hitherto devoted manservant, Jeeves. Repairing to the country with his banjolele and new valet, Brinkley, Bertie soon finds himself in no shortage of trouble. A visit to an American yacht ends with him locked in a stateroom by a prospective father-in-law.

Your Likes make Audible better!

Publisher's Summary

Bertie Wooster's newfound enthusiasm for the banjolele results in his eviction from his apartment and, to his outrage, having to take notice from his hitherto devoted manservant, Jeeves. Repairing to the country with his banjolele and new valet, Brinkley, Bertie soon finds himself in no shortage of trouble. A visit to an American yacht ends with him locked in a stateroom by a prospective father-in-law. Bertie escapes to his cottage only to find an intoxicated Brinkley, who chases Bertie with a carving knife into his bedroom, then sets the cottage ablaze. Only Jeeves, brilliant Jeeves, can set Bertie's world aright.

What the Critics Say

"Jonathan Cecil gives a sparkling performance of this classic piece of Wodehouse humor. Cecil's Jeeves speaks with the great dignity and classic accent one expects of the ideal valet. In contrast, Cecil performs Bertie with all the winsome frivolity due to the fictional aristocrat. Wodehouse's confection of muddled engagements and provoked musicians is perfectly narrated." (AudioFile)

Hysterically funny and for the most part extremely well narrated. The narrator does a stupendous job with very well-acted dialog between Jeeves and Wooster. My only criticism would be his failed attempt at voicing an American female -comes off more campy drag queen than belle of the ball. Other than that, an absolute scream and thoroughly enjoyable listen.

The action of this Wodehouse romp takes place in the small English village of Chufnel Regis,where Bertie Wooster has taken a cottage so he may continue to practice the "banjolele." This alleged instrument is so offensive that he has been threatened with eviction from his London flat, and Jeeves has given notice.

Such is Bertie's devotion to his music that he suffers to lose Jeeves, who is promptly hired by Lord Chufnel, Bertie's old school pal. Thus, the action moves to the country, where a former flame of Bertie's, her millionaire father, and Sir Roderick Glossip show up proposing to purchase Chufnel Hall and set up a private mental hospital. Chuffy falls for Bertie's old flame, and plans to marry her on the proceeds of the sale of the estate.

This is P.G. Wodehouse, so the course of love does not run smooth. Complications involve some over-conscientious police officers, a drunken butler with a penchant for carving knives, heliotrope pyjamas, a troupe of minstrel singers, copious amounts of bootblack and a distinct lack of butter.

A significant amount of the plot turns on both Bertie and Sir Roderick wearing blackface in order to impersonate the minstrel singers. This is an artifact of the period this was written, but may strike modern readers as unfunny, so be warned.

The earlier Wooster and Jeeves books seemed a little faster paced with the fun and action than this one. However, the language is still irrevocably Wodehouse, and certainly passes the time pleasantly enough!

Jonathan Cecil strikes the perfect tones for Wooster and Jeeves themselves, but struggles very occassionally with voices of other characters. His young American northern woman accent is hysterically bad, but I'm a young American northern woman, so it may not strike others so poorly. In general I am impressed with Cecil's vibrancy when reading.

Recommended for a light listen, but not the gut buster laughs of The Inimitable Jeeves.

This classic tale is well worth its reputation. Certainly this is from a different era than much of today's stories. But that is what a classic is. The story is relaxingly funny. However, the narrator is a poor choice. There is not much female dialogue and all is awful. Just doing a "normal" voice would have been better.

Your report has been received. It will be reviewed by Audible and we will take appropriate action.

Can't wait to hear more from this listener?

You can now follow your favorite reviewers on Audible.

When you follow another listener, we'll highlight the books they review, and even email* you a copy of any new reviews they write. You can un-follow a listener at any time to stop receiving their updates.

* If you already opted out of emails from Audible you will still get review emails by the listeners you follow.